WFISD proposes extended Thanksgiving break, fewer early release days

Wichita Falls ISD officials have proposed a calendar with a few changes that they hope will be more friendly to parent and family schedules.

One of changes that will affect parents the most is the district hopes to get rid of four early release days in favor of an extended Thanksgiving break.

"Having those early release days on non-holidays tends to be difficult for parents," said Ashley Thomas, WFISD communications officer. "...We don't want to inconvenience parents or have students stay at home by themselves if we can avoid that."

Thomas said the district's calendar committee – made up of parents, teachers, principals and district administrators – used comments from the community to shape next school year.

"With that week of Thanksgiving, we had feedback from family members who go out of town that they need a bit longer than the three days to visit family," Thomas said.

Thomas said the district tried to formulate a calendar that was considerate of military members at Sheppard Air Force Base and others with relatives out of the area while also meeting state guidelines for how many minutes of school time are required.

"We were wanting feedback specifically about that week, since it may be convenient for some but tougher for others," Thomas said.

WFISD has an online form for parents to comment on the proposed changes through the end of the month. The link can also be found on the district's social media accounts.

The district also is moving winter break a week closer to Christmas, which falls on a Tuesday in 2018, than the current school year. Students will have early release on Friday, Dec. 21, 2018 and return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.

Thomas said if the district had stuck to their usual schedule, students would have had early release on Dec. 14, 2018 and returned Dec. 31, 2018. They would then have to be off on New Year's Day, causing further disruptions to the classroom.

"It makes more sense to go another week in so you aren't having to split the week when we get back," Thomas said.

The other lengthy school holiday – spring break – is getting shifted to the third full week of March instead of the second full week, causing it to fall in line with the same week as Vernon College instead of Midwestern State University.

While the district tries to stay with MSU's week off, Thomas said the committee again tried to take students into account with its decision.

"We have a lot of students who attend dual credit classes at Vernon," Thomas said. "It was going to be difficult if we were to have spring break the week before. We decided to go with Vernon rather than MSU to accommodate our students who take classes at Vernon."

Thomas asked anyone with questions and feedback for the district about the proposed changes to use the online form, so the responses don't get accidentally missed.

"If we can keep it on the form, that'd be great," she said. "... They can also always call to speak to us and get questions answered."

WFiSD's community relations department can be reached at 940-235-1004.